KUWAIT - Oilfield Profile - Ratqa/Rumaila.

One of the causes of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, Ratqa is an extension of Iraq's Rumaila super-giant. Discovered in north-west Kuwait in 1978 by KOC (nationalised since 1995), it was first thought to be a small and independent structure. Earlier, British geologists had suggested that Rumaila's north- south trend might extend deep to the south. In the early 1960s, the British authorities demarcated Kuwait's northerly border in areas disputed by Iraq.

These included the Abdali oilfield to the east, which was discovered by KOC in the 1980s.

Rumaila in Iraq was found in 1953 by Basra Petroleum Co. after a seismic survey, following the discovery of Zubair field in an adjacent area. Its long and anticlinal structure was then divided into two sections, Rumaila and North Rumaila. Eventually, the field was established as a super-giant, with 35 deg.

oil coming from Lower Cretaceous Zubair sands and heavier oils from the Mishrif formation of the Middle Cretaceous. The 80-km long structure extended about 3.6 km into Kuwait.

At Ratqa, KOC found the crescentic trend to have 18 deg. oil in Lower Fars sand reservoirs, of the Oligo-Miocene Ghar group at shallow depths. In the early 1980s it was established that lower formations of the Cretaceous age were part of the Rumaila structure. KOC drilled eight wells in the 1980s. Iraq claimed in 1990 that Kuwait was using the wells to "steal oil from Iraq" and Baghdad officials charged that KOC was to exploit the area on a larger scale by horizontal drilling. Kuwait denied those allegations.

After the war of February 1991, which liberated Kuwait, the UN drew a new border between Kuwait and Iraq. All the wells came within Kuwaiti territory.

The field was brought on stream in January 1994 and its output now 40,000 b/d.

The oil is piped to Raudhatain's processing facilities and then on to the export system. In 1993, KOC was authorised to build a 40,000 b/d GC at the field, although work was delayed until mine clearance was completed.

Abdali field, also on the border with Iraq, is producing about 10,000 b/d of oil piped to Raudhatain. Now the government is offering Bahra, Ratqa and Abdali to foreign companies under an IPPC. They should be developed for a sustainable capacity of 150,000 b/d, compared with 80,000 b/d at present.

The foreign groups that will develop the northern fields should also fully fund construction of a crude oil export terminal on Bubiyan island, where they should have a town built to house employees working on their projects and they must train Kuwaitis as well. Development of the northern fields, raising their recoverable reserves and building all necessary facilities will require a total of about $7 bn (see Gas Market Trends No. 21).